Electrical Stimulation Prevents Muscular Atrophy and the Decrease of Interleukin-6 in Paralyzed Muscles after Spinal Cord Injury in Rats.

 To analyze the muscle trophism and expression of interleukin-6 in the biceps brachii muscle of rats with incomplete cervical spinal cord injury treated with neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES).  Adult rats underwent C5-C7 spinal cord hemisection and a 5-week NMES protocol. Trophism of the biceps brachii was assessed using muscle weight/body weight ratio and histological analysis.

Manipulation of the Fascial System Applied During Acute Inflammation of the Connective Tissue of the Thoracolumbar Region Affects Transforming Growth Factor-β1 and Interleukin-4 Levels: Experimental Study in Mice.

Fascia can become rigid and assume a fibrotic pattern due to inflammatory processes. Manipulation of the fascial system (MFS), manual technique targeting connective tissues, is commonly used in clinical practice in pain management. We aimed to verify MFS effects on the connective tissue inflammatory changes in mice.

Overground gait training promotes functional recovery and cortical neuroplasticity in an incomplete spinal cord injury model.

Aim: Evidence suggests that task-specific gait training improves locomotor impairments in people with incomplete spinal cord injury (SCI); however, plastic changes in brain areas remain poorly understood. The aim of this study was to examine the possible effects of a task-specific overground gait training on locomotor recovery and neuroplasticity markers in the cortex, cerebellum, and lumbar spinal cord in an experimental model of incomplete-SCI.

Main Methods: Using a blind, basic experimental design, 24 adult Wistar rats underwent a surgical procedure and were allocated into sham, non-trained SCI (SCI), and trained SCI (Tr-SCI) groups.

Early Cyclical Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation Improves Strength and Trophism by Akt Pathway Signaling in Partially Paralyzed Biceps Muscle After Spinal Cord Injury in Rats.

Background: Electrical stimulation is often used to treat weakness in people with spinal cord injury (SCI); however its efficacy for increasing strength and trophism is weak, and the mechanisms underlying the therapeutic benefits are unknown.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to analyze the effects of neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) on muscle function, trophism, and the Akt pathway signaling involved in muscular plasticity after incomplete SCI in rats.

Design: This was an experimental study.